The protection of the constitution warns of attacks from ranks of the "lateral thinking" movement

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Participant in the "lateral thinking" demonstration in Frankfurt

Photo: RONALD WITTEK / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock

While hundreds of supporters of the "lateral thinking" movement gathered again in several German cities and took to the streets against state-prescribed corona measures, Lower Saxony's constitution protection president Bernhard Witthaut warns of the progressive radicalization of the anti-corona policy movement.

He said he did not rule out further attacks from these ranks.

The protest is no longer directed against individual rules restricting the pandemic, but against an alleged corona dictatorship, Witthaut told the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung".

It would "openly propagate subversion fantasies against the German government".

There is radicalization through conspiracy theories.

Individuals no longer shrank from attacks, as an arson attack on the Robert Koch Institute and an explosives in Berlin-Mitte, along with the corresponding letters of confession, would have shown.

Witthaut said: "I don't want to rule out the possibility that there will be further attacks, which I hope not."

So far, he sees no evidence of anti-corona terror, but there is a corresponding potential for radicalization in the movement.

The development must be kept in view "before something worse happens".

Hamburg's head of the protection of the constitution, Torsten Voss, had previously said in an interview with SPIEGEL that one would look "very carefully to see whether an extremist movement is emerging".

Voss

fears a radicalization of the corona demonstrations and is concerned about the increasing propensity for violence.

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) demanded that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution should deal more intensively with the "lateral thinkers" demonstrators.

"In Germany we initially underestimated the citizens of the Reich and then experienced how a completely absurd idea can pose a serious threat to the state and life," he said and warned of what he saw as an "increasingly sect-like" movement.

Right-wing extremists curry favor with the movement

In Lower Saxony, the organization "lateral thinking", which is behind several larger anti-corona policy demos in recent weeks, is not yet an object of observation for the protection of the constitution, said Witthaut.

"That can change in view of the dynamic development. We take a close look at who calls and goes to which demonstrations."

It should be noted that right-wing extremists were also mobilizing for the corresponding demonstrations across Germany.

They embraced the movement and the participants.

In the protest movement "lateral thinking", currents that wanted a different German state gathered, warned Georg Maier (SPD), chairman of the conference of interior ministers (IMK) and interior minister of Thuringia.

It is true that not all supporters or sympathizers of the movement pursued this goal.

"But there are large parts of it who want exactly that: to abolish the free and democratic basic order," said Maier.

It is no coincidence that there are right-wing extremists, Reich citizens and conspiracy theorists in the ranks of "lateral thinking" and referred to the demonstration in Leipzig.

"For example, verbally distancing yourself from right-wing extremism is not enough," said Maier, Thuringia's interior minister.

Last Saturday, a "lateral thinking" rally in Leipzig by more than 20,000 opponents of the Corona measures got out of hand.

Most of the participants did not wear a protective mask and did not adhere to the rules of distance.

There was also violence against police officers and journalists, among others.

Demo with 800 participants in Regensburg

In Regensburg, around 800 supporters of the "lateral thinking" movement protested against state-prescribed corona measures.

At a counter-demonstration, around 90 people initially came together.

The organizers had registered 2000 participants, but the city limited the number to 1000 people.

In addition, the participants in the event must wear a mask under the motto "Demonstration for self-determination and mask liberation" and keep a minimum distance of one and a half meters.

The administrative court of Regensburg rejected an urgent application against the requirements on Friday for formal reasons.

The court announced that the application was inadmissible.

The applicants had failed to file a lawsuit first, without which an urgent application would not be admissible, so the reasons for the decision.

Supporters of the "lateral thinking" movement also wanted to protest in other places in Bavaria at the weekend.

Another large demonstration was expected in Aichach, among others.

Demos are to take place in Erlangen and Lindau on Sunday.

In addition, members of the "lateral thinking 69" alliance demonstrated in Frankfurt am Main under strict conditions.

According to the organizers, around 500 people should take part in the protest against the corona measures taken by the federal and state governments.

The police checked compliance with the mask requirement.

Counter-demonstrations began at the same time.

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